Recognition

Each year, the business operations curriculum of Devry University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada requires a senior research and analysis project from their graduating class. The seniors are divided up into 3 man teams for the project work.

The senior team of Graham Pfeiffer, Ryan Grisso, and Steve Vonhell received permission to conduct a detailed financial analysis of a Canadian tire store for their project. The research involved an evaluation of the store’s market share, product and service analysis, demographic analysis, competitive analysis, and growth potential. One of the team members, Graham Pfeiffer, had grown up in his father’s tire business and was able to use this experience to help in the research.

As part of the research, the team analyzed how tire store software could help the profitability of the tire store. In this process they evaluated 5 tire store software packages that best represented a cross section of the software market in the US and Canada. The packages included two popular Unix/AS400 tire software programs, one popular Windows tire software program, one popular auto service shop software program, and our program, TireShop.

It is important to note that this research and resulting report is completely unbiased in any way. The research group discovered TireShop from an internet search and after initial evaluation, included TireShop in their evaluation group. This is the only independent, non-biased, study available that evaluates tire software.

The project team scored each software package in 5 important areas of usability and functionality. TireShop received the highest ranking in each of the 5 areas and was ranked #1 with an overall score of 97%. Overall scores for the other programs ranged from 53% to 77%.

Here are some quotes taken from the report:

“TireShop was by far the best software we tested, and it is at a good stage of its life cycle.”

“TireShop is an extremely easy program to use, which means that training will be minimal.”“Management will also have much more information at their fingertips in order to make better decisions. This will lead to less inventory, improved cash flow, faster quotes, and increased productivity. The tire store will benefit immensely from this software adoption."

“The CRM software provided by TireShop should increase the company’s overall growth by a minimum of 5% for the first 5 years.”

“However, the pro-forma income statement shows how drastically the company’s income statement will change in the years subsequent to 2005 with the addition of the TireShop system.”

“An interesting note to the cash flow pro-forma is that even with the overall cost of the CRM system being included in the investment section for the year 2005, there is still a positive cash flow for that year (please see appendix p). One would expect a more promising cash position in the subsequent years, but not such an upturn within the system’s first year of implementation. On the whole, it appears that the CRM system will improve the tire store’s cash position immediately as well as for the next five years. Increases in yearly cash flows are an encouraging sign for the company and its future.”

“With all of these benefits it was easy to choose TireShop over the rest…”

Graham Pfeiffer, Ryan Grisso, and Steve Vonhell received the top grade for their senior project.